Invisible
by keirorin
Summary: Mugi is always doing things for others, but how many people pay the price? Azusa is the only one who notices her loneliness, but by that time, it's too late...  A/N: I'm sorry for the words in bold & italic! Fanfiction won't get rid of it!


"_A~zusa-cha~an~," she sings in a twisted melody, tightening her grip on the knife. I hunch down behind the statue, breathing heavily._

_Tap, tap._

_There they are; footsteps. She is getting closer by the second. Her once graceful walk is now the cause of my suffrage._

_Where did it all go wrong...?_

* * *

><p>My name is Azusa Nakano, a second-year student of Sakuragaoka High School. I joined the light music club last year and play a Fender Mustang guitar. I play in the band of Hokago Tea Time... silly name, huh? What does it matter; it fits our band perfectly. Our band consists of a lousy advisor: Sawako Yamanaka, lazy snackers: lead guitarist Yui Hirasawa and drummer Ritsu Tainaka, and elegant ladies: bassist and vocalist Mio Akiyama and pianist Tsumugi (or Mugi) Kotobuki. <p>

And despite our lack of practice, or will to practice at all, I couldn't have made better friends in a million years, and isn't it sad that I never had the chance to say goodbye? 

Why did it have to end this way?

* * *

><p>I enter the music room, doubtful we will play instruments at all. As I thought, Ritsu-sempai and Yui-sempai are chowing down on the snacks Mugi-sempai made. The moment I walk in, Yui jumps from her seat. <p>

"A~~~zu-nyan!" she calls my ridiculous nickname out and hugs me tight. Her hugs can be annoying at times, but I've come to like them (of course, there's no way I'd admit it). 

Ritsu-sempai pulls her away and talks to me. "Yo, Azusa! Ya know, I've been kind of wondering something..." she turns away and laughs nervously.

Her sentence is finished by Mio-sempai. "She wants you to help her study for our end-of-year exams."

"I'm a year younger than you..." I sigh, "What about Mio-sempai? Can't she help?"

"Dummy Mio wants me to 'learn on my own'!" She childishly sticks out her tounge at Mio. 

"And what about Mugi-sempai?" 

With a surprised start, Ritsu blushes, and walks towards Tsumugi. "Ahh, sorry! Forgot that you could help! Ahaha!" She gives an embarrassed laugh.

Mugi-sempai fiddles with her hair, looking sad that Ritsu forgot about her, but then smiles and says, "It's okay. I don't stand out much, so it's only natural you would ask a smart, younger girl who only recently came, like Azusa-chan."

* * *

><p>Walking my path home, I think about what Tsumugi said. She was obviously lying. If she really forgave Ritsu, she wouldn't have added "smart, younger girl who only recently came". Mugi-sempai probably felt invisible. I shake my head, trying to get the bad thoughts out of my head.<p>

_Tap, Tap._

I jump at the sound. Footsteps...? I turn around and see nobody. _I should lie down a bit_, I think, _But those footsteps sounded strangely familiar...  
><em>

* * *

><p>"Azusa-chan!" Mugi-sempai rushes towards me as I was walking to the clubroom.<p>

_Huh_, I realize, _isn't this the first time we ever walked to the clubroom together?_

As we walk, I get a good look at her long, wavy, golden hair and her beautifully thick eyebrows, making me feel like a servant girl in compared to her.

Despite her rich family, she isn't a braggart or spoiled. Tsumugi Kotobuki is the sweetest person one could ever meet. She even brings us expensive sweets and tea every day! So distracted by her beauty, I don't notice how when she opens the door— 

— _BOOM._

"A~~~zu-nyan!" Yui's usual greeting; a pounce followed by a hug.

The usual routine follows; Ritsu pulling her off me, Mio hitting Ritsu on the head for some stupid remark she made, everybody talking to me at once. It's so noisy, but fun.

I can't help notice nobody has greeted Mugi-sempai yet. Her heartwarming smile breaks as she walks past the room silently, breaking _my_ heart. 

Never had I realized how lonely she is. 

"I have snacks..." she says, nervously.

Except for Mio and me, everybody rushes towards the table – including Ms. Yamanaka, who somehow made it here in the blink of an eye after hearing the word "snacks". 

She has attention now, and that relieves me. But what is that pained face of hers for...?

"Mmm!" Yui shrieks with delight, "So good!"

"I'm glad you like i—" Mugi starts, but is interrupted.

"Azusa! Get in on this cake!"

"Azu-nya~an! Say 'aah!'"

"Azusa, if we don't hurry, they'll eat it all."

"Azusa-chan, eat, eat!" 

Tsumugi has no look of sadness anymore. At first, she gets a look of realization, which suddenly twists into pure anger.  
>Scorn.<br>Hatred.  
>Revenge.<p>

I gasp. Never have I seen her with such a face. It scares me. Even when she is feeling down, she hides it through her smile. Something made her break. And that something... 

... is me.

* * *

><p>My mother tells me to run an errand for her at the supermarket. On my way there, I pass by the school, only reminding me of Mugi-sempai's expression after school. Once again, it brings my head up in the clouds. <p>

_Mugi-sempai... do you hate me? _I feel tears welling at this awful thought. _Ah, ha, ha... that can't be... we've been friends for around two years, right? If she had problems... wouldn't she talk to me?_

_Tap, tap._

There it is again. I turn around. The only thing following me is my own shadow... and another shadow.

It's behind a tree. Too afraid to follow it, I turn back to go to the supermarket, only to meet with Tsumugi Kotobuki's face.

"Mu-Mu-Mugi-sempai! Don't scare me like that, please!" I exclaim, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Sorry, Azusa-chan... did I make your day worse?" there is a strange irony in her voice, one that nobody has ever heard her speak in.

I see how her hands are tucked behind her back. She can tell I'm staring there, and speaks. 

"Oh, did I make you wonder what this is? My, my, I guess there is no choice but to show you..."

Sweeping her hands from her back, Mugi-sempai shows me the last thing I would have thought she had... **a knife.**

Mugi isn't that kind of person... why am I so scared?

"Do... do you need that for cutting cake at home?" I guess an obviously wrong answer.

"Ahahaha... Azusa-chan... silly girl... **I WON'T EVER HAVE CAKE.**"

Her change in voice wakes me up. I look at her face. This isn't our sweet, fun-loving Tsumugi, is it? Her eyes aren't the beautiful, deep aqua anymore. They are a blank indigo. 

This isn't the Tsumugi I know. 

I back away slowly, and Tsumugi comes my way, pointing the sharp instrument to my face.

"Hey, hey, did you know how little people would speak to me before you came? When I wasn't offering snacks or a villa?" she is plastered with a deadly smile. 

I shake my head. 

"The answer is **BARELY**. Now, after you came, do you know how little people would talk to me? When I had nothing to give?" She doesn't wait for an answer. "The answer is **EVEN LESS THAN BEFORE.**" 

I have goosebumps all over. My eyes reach bloodshot when Mugi-sempai starts charging at me with her dagger. 

**"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"**

I run as fast as I can, tears drenching my face from the shock. I reach the school by the time she is out of sight. I curl up into a ball behind the school's statue and hide, shivering and crying. I peek out, and see Mugi-sempai walking ever so silently at the school entrance. 

"A~zusa-cha~an~," she sings in a twisted melody, tightening her grip on the knife. I hunch down behind the statue, breathing heavily.

_Tap, tap._

There they are; footsteps. She is getting closer by the second. Her once graceful walk is now the cause of my suffrage.

I feel an ice-cold hand touch my shoulder. Tsumugi's hands are usually warm...

* * *

><p>I look up. Yui-sempai?<p>

She is wet in her eyes' water, worried, cheek bloodied.

"She already got Sawa-chan, Ricchan and Mio-chan... I'm next, after you." Yui's teeth are clenched slightly, but her jaw drops and she turns around. 

And who could be standing there but Tsumugi Kotobuki. 

I expect her to chase after me, based on what Yui said, but she reaches for Yui.

Mugi puts her in chokehold, making her helpless. I clap my hands over my mouth, and realize new tears are forming.

Mugi-sempai releases her grip a little, and points her knife at Yui's neck instead. 

"Azusa-chan, you love your friends, right?" Tsumugi's smile widens.

I nod, unable to speak with my dried throat.

"What if one had a knife pointed to her throat?" She puts it nearer to Yui.

I clear my throat a bit, and cough out, "I... I would sacrifice myself." 

Tsumugi nods, as if she saw it coming, and releases Yui.

"I am just invisible... so unless I'm offering tea, you won't feel a thing."

She charges to my chest with the blade. 

Yui-sempai's eyes widen. 

"**NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! AZUSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"**

_Its's over... sorry things had to end this way._

The last thing I see is Tsumugi walking to Yui.

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><p>15th of March, 2009, four high school students and a teacher from Sakuragaoka Girls' High were found dead. One girl from the same school disappeared.<p>

_**Yamanaka, Sawako**_ – found dead with a bloodied forehead in her living room. Unknown culprit; investigation continues.

_**Tainaka, Ritsu**_ – found dead in garden. Window was open. Suspected suicide; investigation continues.

_**Akiyama, Mio**_ – stabbed in the chest, in Tainaka's room. Unknown murderer (suspect: Tainaka); investigation continues.

_**Nakano, Azusa**_ – found dead behind Sakuragaoka's statue. Stab mark in chest. Most likely same murderer; investigation continues.

_**Hirasawa, Yui**_ – found with a slit throat by Sakuragaoka's entrance. Possibly same murderer; investigation continues.

_**Kotobuki, Tsumugi**_ – disappeared without a trace. Witnesses say she was holding a bloodied knife. Investigation closed.

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><p>AN: How'd you like it? It's my first story, so it may not be too good. But I might write a few more K-ON! One-shots if I have time.


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